Life in Code: A Personal History of Technology

Ellen Ullman, a veteran software engineer, traces the evolution of the digital world through the lens of her own career. Rather than a dry technical history, this memoir explores how the culture of programming has shifted from a craft of individual mastery to an industry driven by speed, scale, and corporate demands. Ullman reflects on the changing nature of code, the rise of the internet, and the social implications of the technologies she helped build.

The writing is reflective and accessible, bridging the gap between technical expertise and general readership. It serves as a critical examination of the 'hacker' ethos and its transformation into modern software engineering, offering insights into the human side of technological progress. The narrative is grounded in specific historical moments, from early mainframe programming to the dot-com boom, providing a personal counter-narrative to standard tech histories.

Description adapted from Open Library bibliographic data ↗.